18:15.28N 40:20.68W

Ocean Science's blog
Glenn Cooper
Fri 23 Jan 2015 12:16
We went through 40 degrees west at dawn this morning, yippee.    A bit like
seeing 100,000 miles click up on a speedo.   
 
m_IMG_4638
 
The wind has dropped a bit and the seas are less macho than they were. 
 
Some signs that we are in the tropics :
a couple of days ago a tropicbird flapped up, circled the boat a couple of
time, then moseyed off, a brave little creature 1,200 miles from the nearest
land; since then we have seen a few more, also a skua skimming the waves.
The rain from the squalls, which were very frequent yesterday, is warm.
 
 
Another mahimahi fish yesterday, a bit larger than the first, about 2.5
kilos - straight into the freezer for lunch today.  We left the line
trailing and then we got another bite.  Ben D grabbed the rod and bravely wrestled
with the catch, finally landing it to the cockpit...
 
m_P1000822
 
 
A Great Atlantic Fighting Plastic Bag.    (This can have done a turtle a good
deed - the poor beasts swallow plastic bags thinking they are jellyfish)
 
****
Most of the day on our boat there is a murmur of conversation - affable,
collegiate, convivial.  And eclectic.  Some recent topics, apart from all
things boats and sailing, are:
 
Stars and how to tell Jupiter from Mars
Sheep rearing
Anecdotes (many from Glennbo)
Food, cooking, chef's tips (mainly Teresa)
Bicycles I have owned
The Christian faith
How to go round corners fast on motorbikes
Atheism, and where did the universe come from
Favourite heroes in crime thrillers
Sea poems (see our occasional feature "Culture Corner")
How can Elton John play fancy chords with stubby little fingers
How to use a sextant (we have a sextant, folks)
The words of every blues song known to mankind (Ben D)
The words of some of the others (Gregor)
Transactional analysis (Ben S)
Quotes from Withnail & I
The perils of life on board a cruise yacht (Mark)
Why the Pacific Ocean is boring
Why the Atlantic is not
How to shave a 2 week beard without blocking the filters
 
It is noon GMT (10am ship’s time) and everyone is up.  Teresa is working out how to deal with the fish for lunch – some sashimi, and some ceviche (cured with lemon marinade), Ben S is helping in the galley, sorting doggy from usable vegetables.  Glenn and Ben D are on watch and Mark is in the cockpit with them.  Loads of talking and fun; the late morning and lunch is the main time when we are all together, not so much in the evening.   The sun is shining and I am just about to go upstairs (or “on deck” as we boaties say)
 
The crew of this good ship wish you all a happy day; thanks for reading
 
G